Phlebotomine sand flies from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: first record of Phlebotomus (Larroussius) longicuspis south of the Sahara.

During a brief entomological survey carried out in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in March 2002, 178 phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) were caught using CDC miniature light traps. They were identified as Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu-Lemaire, P. longicuspis Nitzulescu, Sergentomyia adleri (Theodor), S. affinis vorax (Parrot), S. antennata (Newstead), S. bedfordi (Newstead), S. christophersi (Sinton), S. fallax (Parrot), S. magna (Sinton) and S. schwetzi (Adler, Theodor & Parrot). This is the first record south of the Sahara of P. longicuspis sensu lato. This proven vector of Leishmania infantum Nicolle is a species closely related to P. perniciosus. It was identified by morphology and by the sequencing of a fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome b. There was 100% sequence homology with typical Tunisian specimens, and all characters identified the specimen as P. longicuspis sensu stricto. Epidemiological and biogeographical consequences are discussed.